NBC paid tribute to Brandon Rogers on Tuesday night in the most emotional and appropriate way possible:
It aired the aspiring singer"s America"s Got Talent audition.
As previously reported, Rogers tragically died in a car accident last month, not long after trying out for this popular singing competition.
At the time, sources said that producers were unsure whether they would air Rogers" tryout for the series, but it appears as if his loved ones didn"t just give them permission to do so…
… they strongly encouraged Rogers be featured.
“At the request of his family we would like to honor his memory by sharing his audition with you,” America"s Got Talent wrote in statement prior to airing Rogers’ appearance.
Rogers graduated from medical school in 2015 and dedicated to his life/work within the medical community over the past two years.
In his spare time, however, he recorded videos of himself singing, one of which got noticed by the series (prompting NBC to fly him to Los Angeles for his audition) and one of which even got noticed by Boyz II Men.
As a result of the beloved group discovering Rogers on Instagram, Brandon was actually invited to join them on stage for a show late last year.
A few months later, he was a passenger in a car whose driver fell asleep behind the wheel.
The car veered off the road and slammed into a tree, after which Rogers was rushed to the hospital… but he died from injuries sustained in the wreck.
His memory lives on, forever, especially after an impressive America"s Got Talent appearance.
"My inspiration for becoming a doctor was kind of born out of a pretty tough experience when I was six years old when I came home from school one day and found my mom laying in a pool of blood,” he said on stage last night, posthumously.
“We rushed her to the hospital, the doctors were like heroes. They saved her life and it made me want to be the doctor that I am today."
The 29-year old then broke into a rendition of Stevie Wonder’s 1995 classic “Ribbon in The Sky” for judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Mel B and Howie Mandel.
"You have real control and passion and you can be a star,” Mandel told Rogers after the audition. “You spent so much time going down that medical road. I think it was a waste of time and schooling because you should be a singer.”
And Cowell added:
“Your vocal is stunning.
"I want to say something. I’ve never said this before to a doctor: You’re sick. Really sick. You’re one of the best singers we’ve had in the competition so far, I’ve gotta tell you."
May Brandon Rogers rest in peace.
Watch his moving audition for America"s Got Talent below:
